Angels’ Winning Streak Is Postponed by Rain

With a four-game winning streak, it seems the last thing the Angels wanted was a rainout Sunday afternoon.

But that was not Manager Doug Rader’s attitude. He was glad when Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium was postponed.

“Considering that we couldn’t use Johnny Ray or Dick Schofield, Brian Downing’s legs are tender, Devon White’s got a touch of tonsillitis and the bullpen needs a rest, I’d say it beats the alternative,” Rader said. “I don’t think we would have matched up all that well today.”

Ray has a sore left wrist. Schofield is one day off the disabled list with a sprained chest muscle and Rader didn’t think it would be wise to use him in the cold and damp. Downing has a slight hamstring pull and a sore knee.

There was at least one Angel who was unhappy about the circumstance. Rookie sensation Jim Abbott, who was scheduled to make his first appearance as a major leaguer in front of family and friends at Detroit Friday night, will be rescheduled to make his next start Friday at Anaheim against the New York Yankees.

“I’m disappointed,” Abbott said. “It will still be nice going home (Flint, Mich.) and seeing everyone, but I was looking forward to pitching in front of my mom and dad and the rest of my family and friends.”

Rader, though, said the rainout might even be good for Abbott.

“Now, he can go in there and handle all the media hoopla from a strictly social standpoint,” Rader said. “Then, next time around, he can go in and do his business.”

Abbott, who has faced the attention with poise since spring training, said: “I don’t want to think of (the media attention) as something that would have gotten in the way, but when you make it as the fifth starter, then you’re someone who gets skipped over or pushed back sometimes. That’s the nature of being No. 5.

“It would be nice to pitch there, but it’s just something you have to deal with.”

A makeup date for the rained out game has not yet been announced, but Saturday’s game at Exhibition Stadium figures to be the Angels last in that facility. The Blue Jays new Sky Dome stadium is scheduled to open in early June and the Angels don’t return to Toronto until July 17.